The discussion throughout this specification comes about due to the realisation of the inventor and/or the identification of certain related art problems by the inventor. Moreover, any discussion of material such as documents, devices, acts or knowledge in this specification is included to explain the context of the invention in terms of the inventors knowledge and experience and, accordingly, any such discussion should not be taken as an admission that any of the material forms part of the prior art base or the common general knowledge in the relevant art in Australia, or elsewhere.
End of Useful Life Polymeric Materials
Polymeric wastes, such as for example used rubber tyres, used rubber conveyor belts, and used chloroprene products such as wet suits or the like, have become a global economic and environmental problem.
Polymeric waste materials comprise a wide range of polymers including natural rubber co-polymers and synthetic rubbers such as SBR (styrene butadiene rubber) and butadiene rubber, nitride rubber, isoprene rubber, chloroprene rubber and polysulphide rubber.
The present invention addresses the economic and environmental issues associated with the disposal of such polymeric waste materials by presenting a novel reprocessing solution for polymeric materials reuse, as well as being an innovative value-add process for any polymeric materials in its own right by modifying non end-of-life polymeric materials for advantageous industrial use.
Advantages of Activation
Advantages of activated polymeric materials, such as for example surface activated rubber crumb from end of useful life tyres, are well known as demonstrated for example at the joint seminar held at Finland's Tampere University of Technology by Kumi-instituutti & MOL (October 2009), where it was shown that the influence on compound properties by surface activated rubber crumb as opposed to untreated rubber crumb provided improved properties such as an increase in the tensile strength of the resultant compounded materials. The results are shown in FIGS. 5A and 5b. 
Activation of materials can occur via known methods such as for example: irradiating energised ion particles onto the surfaces of the polymer while blowing a reactive gas directly over the surface of the polymer as described in for example U.S. Pat. No. 6,300,641; electron beam produced plasma technologies as described in for example patent application WO 2005/100629; organocatalytic acid based technologies as described in for example patent application PCT/CA2008/001554; and utilisation of chemical reagents as described in for example patent application PCT/US2010/061133 or metal ions combined with peroxide as described in for example patent application WO 2005/028744.
The present invention alternatively provides a method and device for gaseous activation that is simpler and less expensive than the methods of activation referred to above, and is specifically designed for more effective and efficient simultaneous fragmentation and surface area activation of already preliminarily deformed polymeric materials, the said polymeric materials being preferably without metal reinforcing elements.